The Gunners played a fantastic game against Lincoln, after their terrible two-legged display against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. "We've played against some world-class players so we must come away from this as better players and better people".

Arsene Wenger insisted his players were "unjustifiably criticised" after their 5-1 loss to Bayern Munich, calling their performance "outstanding" and rejecting the notion they had let him down.

"We found it tough in the second half, we were playing against world-class players but when they scored on the edge of half-time it was always going to be hard, they got a lot of confidence", said Cowley. "I watched this game three times now and it's still the referee who killed our game". "The first one against Bayern I accept we collapsed but when you are down to 10 men against a team of that quality and concede a penalty and have four goals to score it's not a game anymore".

"And that's why I maintained 90 percent of the players in the starting lineup". I'm not sure you can reverse what's happening at the moment.

The visitors held their own for most of the opening 30 minutes against the Premier League giants, although they struggled to carve out chances of their own.

"The second half it felt like he'd brought 15 players, it felt like the clock had stopped".

Fifth tier leaders Lincoln were the first non-league team to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals in 103 years after a shock win over top-flight side Burnley in the fifth round. "That was one hell of a long 45 minutes for us".

"I didn't want to gamble, I knew it was important to win the game", he told a post-match news conference. "We have to be inspired and learn from this journey", he said.

Arsene Wenger admits he fielded a strong side against Lincoln City in the hope that his beleaguered players would regain their confidence after a torrid run that has included five defeats in seven games.